Multiple-hull boat



' F. (a. CREED.

MULTIPLE HULL BOAT. APPLICATION FILED DEC-3. I919.

1,4225%. Patented July 11, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET ll F. G. CREED.

MULTIPLE HULL BOAT. APPLICATION FILED 050.0, 1919.

Patented July H, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 -F. G. CREED.

MULTIPLE HULL BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-3, 1919- 7 1,423,542 Patented July 11, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- F. G. CREED.

MULTIPLE HULL BOAT. APPLICATION FILED DEC,3, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

Eveit. Jam; @20 0 221% dig:

Patented July 11, 1922.

purposes, each float being 15 ears earner castes. I

mummies-HULL Boar.

Specification of Letters JPatent.

Patented July 111, 1922.

Application filed December 3, 1919. Serial No. 342,226.

(GRANTED UNDER THE IROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF HARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L, 1313.)

- To aZZ whom it wmy concern:

5 in the county of Surrey, England, have invented Tm rovements in or Relating to- Multipleul l Boats (for which I have flled application in Great Britain November 25, 1918, Patent No. 150,004), of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a boat or ship (hereinafter called a ship) having greater stability, manoeuvring qualities and safety from sinking or shipwreck, greater facility for loading and unloading, greater comfort for passengers and many other advantages over boats or ships as heretofore usually constructed and'hereinafter referred to for comparison as standard craft:

For this purpose, a ship according to the present invention comprises a deck, frame or super-structure suitably supported upon and rigidly or flexibly connected to three or more floats so disposed as to tha centre of gravity of the ship as to give the maximum stability in all directions when afloat.

The floats or buoyant bodies (hereinafter called floats) which support the superstructure, may be made of any convenient shape or size to enable them to pass easily through the water. One or more of the floats may be arranged in such a way that it or each of them can be turned about a more or less vertical axis for steering purposesandabout a moreor less horizontal axis for trimming the ship, that is to say,-

for determining the'flo'at line, or for checking rolling or pitching, or for each of these purposes. v Or one or more ruddersand one or more inclinable "planes. may be attached to oneor more of the floats, or to the superstructure, andact upon the water'for like rigidly connected to the superstructure. r one or more of the floats may adapted to be turned about a vertical axis or axes for steering purposes and be provided-with one or more inclinable planes for trimming the ship; -'.-The floats may be. of more or less cylindrical or equivalent'shape with tapered or rounded V f ends and are hollow, r and contain air or .j' Otlirfliliddightel than water.

-Motion may be imparted to-the ship by rangements.

means of one or more screw or other propellers acting on the water and mounted for example in or on one or more of the floats and driven in any known or suitable manner. Or the ship may be driven by air propellers, or by gases or other fluids acting upon the water, or by sails, or by oars, or by two or more or all of these means. In some cases the boat may be so small as to serve as a toy.

The superstructure may carry the various cabins, holds, and other offices of a ship for accommodating passengers, crew, cargo,

fuel', engines and so forth- Some of these may be accommodated iii one or more of the floats. The superstructuremay be built high enough above the water to allow the highest waves to pass. freely underneath.

It. suitably connected to the floats, as by means of stream line framework or supports so as to offer minimum resistance to the waves. For facilitating access to the floats, or to one or some of them, from the ings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 'an'underside view, showing diagrammatifcally, one constructionof ship according to the invention. Figs. 3

and 4: are vertical sections at right angles to one another, showing, to a larger scale than Figs 1 and 2, means for rotating one of the floats about a vertical axis and for inclining it abouta horizontal axis. Figs. 5 and 6 and, also Figs. 7 and 8, are similar views to Figs. 1 and 2 respectively, showing modified ar- Fig.' 9 shows partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, a further modified arrangement.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2, dis the superstructure of the ship supported by pillars b, 6 b from three floats. c, c 0 one of the floats, namely 0, arranged in the rear of the other two, namely 0 0 which are arrangedabreast- The float c with its pillar b is arranged with its vertical axis in a longitudinal vertical plane passing midway between the vertical planes containing the vertical axes of the other two'floats c 0 with'their pillars b b7", so

being so i' that the superstructure is supported at three places arranged triangular-wise the floats being so disposed in relation to the centre of gravity of the ship as to give the maximum stability to the ship in all directions when afloat. The superstructure a may be of any desired construction to suit the purpose for which the ship is to be used, and carry various cabins, holds or other offices as and for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned. The floats 0, c 0 are made of circular section with tapered end portions to facilitate easy passage through the water and of suflicient size and buoyancy to support the superstructure, divided, as hereinbefore mentioned, to. form a number of water-tight compartments. The

and about a horizontal theship. For these. purposes, the hollow lateral and are. made pillars 6, b 6 aremade of oval or equivalent section, also to facilitate easy passage,

through the water, when immersed therein, hollow so that access can be gamed through them to the interiors of the each of the two front floats c 0 is made of larger size and therefore of greater buoyancy than the rear float c-and they are rigidlyconnected through their pillars b 6 to the superstructure a. They are provided with propellers d driven by motors, conveniently electric motors, located in them and driven from a power plant arranged on thesuperstructure a at a part thereof above and between them.

The rear float c is capable of being turned about a vertical axis fog steering purposes axis for trimming pillar b in the example shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is rigidly connected at its lower end to the float 0. At its upper end it is provided with flange-like extensions f of circular shape having an axis at g in the float and which are arranged to work in corresponding guide-ways it formed by curvedguide plates 71- Theseguide-plates are fixed to a rotary head or turntable 71 mounted to rotate in a horizontal circular guideway formed by a guide ring is fixed to the lower part of the superstructure a. The junction between the pillar and rotary head and between the head and the lower part of the superstructure, are made watertight and antifriction devices are or may be arranged between the relatively movable parts to facilitate-easy movement of such parts. Fixed to the turntable 2' is a circular rackm with which gears a pinion n driven by an electric or other motor 0 carried by the lower part of'the superstructure. To the rotary head 2" is fixed the upper end of a vertical structure p the lower end of which is adapted to serve as a bearing r for a shaft 8 fixed transversely Within and to the float 0. Fixed to one side of and within the upper part of the pillar b is a plate or bracket 6 that extends each of them being sub-' In the example now being described above the rotary head i and is prdvided with a segment u of a worm wheel. With this segment gears a worm '2; the spindle of which is mounted in bearings w on the rotary head direction and moving the upper end of the pillar b in the curved guideways 71. by the as indicated by dotted lines in F ig. .3, by operating the motor a: in one or other The pillars b, b and b can be made of any desired height. The pillars b 6 may be coiinected together and to the. superstructure a by any suitable arrangement of framework, preferably of stream line shape.

In the modified arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the pillar b with it's float c is rigidly connected to the superstructure a and each of the. pillars 6 ,12 with its float 0 c is connected to the superstructure in the man: ner hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 so that each of such floats can be turned about a vertical axis and also about ahorizontal axis. In this example the rearfioat c is made of greatersize and buoyancy than the front floats 0 c which serve as balancing floats, and the power plant a is arranged on the superstructure a so as to be above the float c.

In the modified arrangement shown in Figs. 7 and 8, each of the pillars b, b and b with its float c, 0 or 0 is rigidly connected to'the superstructure a, and the float 0 is provided at its lower side with a rudder l mounted to'turn about a vertical axis for steering purposes, and at its opposite sides with fins or blades 2 arranged to be turned about a' ship.

horizontal axis at 3, for trimming the The rudder and fins or blades are adapted to be operated from the superstructure by any convenient arrangement ofmechanism extending downward through the pillar b. In this case, thethree floatsmay be made of equal size and buoyancy, the float 0 being the leading float and the floats 0 0 propelling floats.

- The adjustable float, or each adjustable float, may, as shown in Fig. 5, be provided with vertical fins 4. According to a further modification, the float c with its pillar b may be mounted to turn about a vertical axis for steering purposes and be provided with inclinable planes worked by mechanism extending downward c, 0 0 can be of other construction than that reaaeea axis of the shaft 3 by a worm 7 rotated by a reversible electric motor 8 so as to vary the inclination of the planes 2.

As will be obvious, the supporting means between the superstructure a and the floats shown, which however are simple and effective. Also, more than three floats can be used if desired. a

- In somecases, the floats when in their normal positions may be immersed well below the surface of the water where there is little or no disturbance from waves. By this means greater stability will be obtained. In such a construction each float may have attached to it or the framework or supports above it, and connecting it to the superstructure, an auxiliary float disposed at or near the'surface of the water so as to act as a stabilizer" to prevent or minimize tilting, rocking or rolling motion. When the supporting means between the floats and superstructure is in theform of hollow pillars as described, such pillars will, when partly immersed, serve also as auxiliary floats for the purpose mentioned.

The floats however large, may be made detachable and replaceable, as by using flanged and riveted joints between them and the pillars or equivalent, and by using larger or smaller floats, which ma be of different shapes, the carrying capacity of the ship and its speed can be varied. Also, one or some of the floats may be hermetically sealed so as not to be in communication with the correspond- I inghollow pillar or pillars.

A ship constructed as described has many advantages. For example, stabilityand consequent freedom from sickness and strain for passengers, crew and livestock, and freedom from or lessened stress on engines, mountings and framework of engines, boilers, cargo and other parts. It cannot be upset and is very diflicult to sink. It can be-manoeuvred more easily than standard craft and can turn in its ownlength or nearly so. Engines and mounting can be lighter, owing to their not being subject to rolling and pitching. No ballast is required.v Perishable cargo can be carried more safely, and speed should com pare well with standard craft. in

Also, such a ship can be designed for use as a war ship, for which purpose it would possess many .important practicaladvantages, including that of providing a steady platform for guns and difficulty of sinking it by collision, torpedoes or the like, particularly when the floats are. sub-divided to form a number of separate water-tightpompartments.

The superstructure can be\ more conveniently arranged for all purposes than in the case of standard craft, and for passengers it is much superior, asall can have fresh air and room for exercise with entire absence of the nauseating smells common to standard craft. The ship can be-docked', loaded and unloaded more easilythan standard craft owing to its more convenient construction and ease of manoeuvre.

tilt is. to be understood that parts of a ship constructed as hereinbefore described are shown only diagrammatically in the drawings and will, in practice, be specially designed to suit the end in view.

What I claim is i 1. A ship embodying a superstructure and a plurality of float-structures each embodying a float, one of said floats'being horizontally rotatable for steering purposes and having a hollow. supporting member, means for rotating the float thro ugh the medium of said hollow supporting member, said rotatable float carrying trimming means consisting of a pair of vanesarranged' at opposite sides of the float, a transverse shaft carrying 2 A ship embodying a superstructure and,

a p urality of float structures each embodying a float, one of said floats having a hollow supporting member, vanes arranged at op' posite sides of said float, a transverse shaft carrying such vanes and extending through the float and means for rocking said shaft and vanes comprising a member extending .up through said tubular-member and motor structure and carrying said vanes, and

.means for rocking said shaft toltilt said vanes in either direction embodying a member extending up through-the tubular member and a motor-mechanism for rocklngsald upwardly extending member, said upwardly extending member, shaft, vanes and motor mechanism being rotatable with the tubular member and float-structure.

4. A ship embodying a superstructure and a plurality of float-structures each embodymg a float, one of said floats having a hollow vertical supporting member adapted to i turn about a vertical axis for rotating said float horizontally for steering purposes, bearing means between the super-structure and the upper end of said tubular member, toothed gearing between said super-structure and tubular member for rotating the latter, a transverse shaft extending through said float, vanes arranged at opposite sides of said float and fixed to the ends of said shaft, a member extending up through the tubular member and connected to said shaft and motor mechanism carried by the upper end of said tubular member and adapted to rock said upwardly extending member, shaft and vanes.

5. A ship embodying a super-structure, three floats each carrying a supporting member for such super-structure, two of said floats being arranged abreast of each other and at a distance apart transversely and the third float being arranged centrallv with but at a distance from the other two in the longitudinal direction, one of said floats having a tubular supporting member, vanes arranged at opposite sides of said float, a transverse shaft extending through said float and carrying said vanes and means for rocking said shaft and vanes embodying a mem er extending up through said tubular member and motor mechanism for rocking salidupwardly extending member.

6. A ship embodying a super-structure, three floats each having a tubular supporting member connected to said super-structure, two of said floats being arranged abreast of each other and at a distance apart transversely and the third float being arranged centrally with but at a distance from the other two in the longitudinal direction and horizontally rotatable with its tubular sup porting member for steering purposes, means for rotating said horizontally rotatable float and itssupporting member,

wanes arranged'at the opposite sides of said third float, a transverse shaft extending through such float and carrying said vanes, and means for rocking said shaft and, vanes embodying a member extending up through the associated tubular supporting member, and rocking mechanism therefor above said supporting member.

A ship embodying a superstructure, a

games, whereby the latter can be moved multaneously from a horizontal position either into an inclined forward and downward position'or into an inclined rearward and downward position, and means extending upward through said hollow member for operating said rocking means.

j,} A ship embodying a superstructure, a plu "lity of floats, tubular connecting mem- ;t for supporting said superstructure above; said floats and above the surface v of the water in which said floats are to move, vanes mounted at opposite sides of said floats to turnabout-transverse horizontal axes, rocking means arranged within each float and connected through the sides thereof to the corresponding vanes and adapted to move the vanes simultaneously from a horizontal position into either a forward and downward position or into a' rearward and downward position and operating means extending upward through each tubular connecting member and con-- nected to the-rocking means for the vanes of the corresponding float, whereby said floats can be caused to descend or ascend to the surrounding water or to move in a horizontal direction therein at will.

Signed at London, England this 10th day of November, 1919.;

FREDERICK GEORGE CREED. 

